The feds say the technology they use to control the weather isn’t working

Humans have always experienced storms and dreamed of controlling the weather. The United States, like all great empires lost to hubris, has long sought to manipulate the heavens for its own ends. A new federal report revealed America tolerates this.

The report comes from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a nonpartisan watchdog group that investigates the US government. It focuses narrowly on “cloud seeding,” the practice of adding silver iodide crystals to clouds to make them collapse and give up that sweet rain. With western states routinely experiencing drought, many local governments are trying to use cloud seeding to bring rain.

It doesn’t work well. The GAO acknowledged that there is some validity to cloud seeding, but its effectiveness is almost impossible to measure. “Cloud seeding may increase water availability and lead to economic, environmental, and human health benefits. In studies reviewed by GAO, estimates of additional precipitation ranged from 0 to 20 percent.” However, the effects of cloud seeding are difficult to evaluate due to limited research effectiveness “

The idea of ​​planting clouds to make it rain began in the late 19th century, but was not studied and perfected until after World War II. “Scientists proved the basis for cloud seeding in the 1940s when they observed in the laboratory that water in clouds could be artificially stimulated to form ice crystals using dry ice or silver iodide crystals,” the GAO said in its report. “This discovery has been followed by extensive federal funding for research and development, including field experiments. For example, in fiscal year 1978, federal funding for weather modification totaled about $68 million, in 2024 dollars.”

Scientists have never been able to prove that it works. Or, if so, how effective the seeding is. In the 1980s, the federal government reduced cloud seeding funds. These days, most cloud seeding schemes are local affairs. According to the Government Accountability Office, nine states (California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming) perform cloud seeding.

Sowing methods and characteristics vary greatly between countries and even nations. This can be done from an airplane flying overhead or through a cloud system, or from a large cannon on the ground that pumps particles into the air. This is often done with silver iodide, but sodium chloride, dry ice, liquid propane, and other salts are also used.

The GAO report is a list of limitations on technology. Utah alone spends $12 million a year on cloud seeding without doing much for it. It is difficult to estimate how much rain would have fallen without cloud seeding, so there is no great way to create a control group for any study. It is also difficult to know how seeding affects rainfall in a particular area. Several previous studies on seed-based precipitation showed results that were not statistically significant.

“While one study found an average increase in precipitation of 3% across 118 randomizations, this effect was not statistically distinguishable from scratch,” the GAO said. “One study reported a 3 percent increase in average precipitation between 1977 and 2018 in nine cases, but statistical results could not conclusively determine the effect of cloud seeding in seven of the cases.”

GAO also noted that no one knows what pumping silver iodine crystals and other particles into clouds to generate rain does to plants and animals on Earth. More water in dry areas is generally better. But changing water levels in sensitive and complex ecosystems can have unintended consequences. “It is not clear whether cloud seeding can improve fish outcomes through higher water levels and lower water temperatures, and it is uncertain how increased soil moisture resulting from cloud seeding could translate into healthier, less dry forests,” one stakeholder said. Reducing exposure to wildfires.”

Silver iodine appears to be non-toxic in small doses, but the science is not yet settled. “Silver iodide is almost insoluble in water,” the report said. “However, when it dissolves it releases a small number of silver ions. In large enough quantities, silver ions – a known antimicrobial substance – can have harmful effects on beneficial bacteria in the environment and water resources.

The GAO also pointed out another problem with cloud seeding software: conspiracy theories. Government control of the weather has long been a feature of conspiracy theories. It is a popular topic for Alex Jones It gained fame this year after Georgia Republican Party representative Marjorie Taylor Greene spread it to followers Hurricane Helen.

This has led some lawmakers to view cloud seeding as a threat. Tennessee lawmakers passed a bill in April that would ban all forms of cloud seeding in the state. In media interviews, Tennessee lawmakers said they had taken action Prevent chemtrails In the sky. A ban on cloud seeding would do nothing to prevent the chemical compounds, which are just the plumes of condensate and jet exhaust they leave in their wake.